Where the Sea Shines, Medusa

"When my love told me that the coast of Medusa twinkled like the stars that floated above in the inky black sky I chose not to believe him. I had seen few wonders in this world and the sounds of a sparkling sea alive with lights did not seem fathomable in my feeble mind but then he showed me. It was the summer's eve and I looked out onto the beaches and could see it hundreds of fluttering lights dancing amongst the calm waves. For a moment I forgot about the pain of this world." - Samson Lily of House Lily.

Great Minds Live Alike

One of the first built cities during the settling of Baile it is said that Medusa was built by eastern folk whose minds were so sick with longing for their beautiful golden cities they had no choice but to build a simulacrum of what they once had. Though the truth of who or what built the great gilded city of Medusa has been lost its beauty is still evident to see in the current day and age. Its beauty seems to be one of its main exports as frivolous things such as music, painting, and the like are made in this city en masse which, not surprisingly, attracts those who wish to master these arts even in this grim and perilous world.

An Ocean Full of Stars

Given its name based on glowing jellyfish that make their home in its harbor every month, Medusa has become a name synonymous with beauty and advancement. One of the few main cities untouched by the Fomori and the spread of chaos in recent years due to its unique position on the coast of Baile and defensive posturing between houses Lily and Cider. Being somewhat unaffected by the recent scourge that has battered the other kingdoms of Baile it has become a recent safe haven for refugees and those looking for a more stable life, though all is not what it seems in the city of gilded streets.

The City of Gilded Streets

Medusa has made many claims of being the birthplace of culture in the Reach, where the people of this land learned to create and to love. Those who dispute this would have a difficult time defending such a claim as one can clearly see the beauty that lines the city streets of Medusa. Beautifully crafted walls and houses covered in painted murals from years gone by. Along with being a center of artistic talent in more recent times, Medusa has seen a boom in its mechanical and scientific community. One can see bronze and brass mechanizations among the street among them are things such as rotating astro-globes of the supposed multi-verse, bronze birds that flutter about the streets amazing those new to the city. These aspects of Medusa has made it incredibly enticing to the academic minds of Baile, especially to both humans and gnomes who find themes inexplicably drawn to tinkering and the "higher thoughts".

The Seat of Power

Ever since Baile had been established the 7 kingdoms have been at war. Spilling blood for land, power, love, and whatever meaningless pursuit clouds the mind of men. Before there were houses and before there was a God-Empress there was the Inquisition. When the forces of chaos spilled forth from their dark fortresses and wreaked havoc upon the foolish children of the Lover while they fought their battles for petty squabbles it was the Inquisition that stood at the vanguard for all. It was at the final battle of the war that came to be known as the "Tides of Chaos" at the Ork stronghold Black Reach that the woman known then as Yorha Lunari would slaughter the Ork horde with her Inquisition and send the vile Ork Warchief Izkor Blacktongue back into the waiting abyss of the Hollowed Halls. She quickly turned her ire upon those who defied her, she thought it not enough to simply destroy the forces of chaos she must also unite the 7 kingdoms of Baile. She did so, with holy fury and unwavering brutality she crushed her foes with her faithful Inquisition and when she returned to her homeland of Medusa she crafted a throne from the black-stone pilfered from the Ork stronghold and crowned herself Empress of all Baile.

The Empress Dipped in Red

Yorha Lunari now sung in the great marble halls of Medusa's great keep as the God-Empress, reborn child of Aoina and Empress of all the light touches. Has become beloved by her subjects her honeyed words like a siren's song to her people. She has formed her Inquisition into a powerful guard for the city keeping it safe and her people secure and with such power, she has quickly turned the once unstable land's of Baile into a unified force against chaos. But not all agree with her methods, as insidious whispers flow through the dark annals of the kingdoms rumors of who the God-Empress truly is, of course, such heresy is silenced before it has the momentum to light the fires of a rebellion but even the smallest ember can start a fire capable of burning through a forest and Medusa was to be the first brutal display of the God-Empress's fury when angered. The streets ran red for days and the sickening smell of iron wafted far beyond the cities gates. Quickly a beautiful city became the first victim of a tyrant's anger and Yorha became aware that her city of gold was not the only stage set for a fiery rebellion.

Alternative Name(s)

The Shining City, The Throne, The First Blood

Type

Capital

Population

2,000,000

Inhabitant Demonym

King's Men